Several businesses were honored Wednesday at the annual Sterling Heights Spring Business Expo and Awards Luncheon.

Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson was the keynote speaker, stressing changes she has implemented to improve services.

Johnson said her “Online, No Wait” Internet process to obtain license plate tags and driver’s license renewals has reduced three-hour waiting time for customers. She also said the policy has cut down on the work her staff has to do daily at 131 offices statewide.

She said her policies have prevented non-citizen from voting and is now working to improve the number of overseas U.S. military personnel who vote. Currently, only 28 percent of those are eligible vote.

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The first-term secretary of state said driving from Oakland to Macomb County on Wednesday was eye-opening. She said she saw a microcosm of the United States right before her eyes.

Johnson said she has a soft spot in her heart for Macomb County because her mother was raised on Dodge Street in south Warren.

“A lot of my family lives in Macomb County,” Johnson said.

She stressed that small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy. She said organizations like the Sterling Heights Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry help make the area a great place to live and raise a family.

Also on Wednesday, the Chamber presented Roy C. Rose the 2013 Lil Adams Award, named after the longtime former director. Rose, a partner in the engineering firm of Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick in Shelby Township, serves as president and principal project manager of the firm that has more than 30 years of experience in civil engineering.

According to Clark Andrews, chamber president and a former recipient of the distinguished award, “Roy is a great example of the many qualities we seek for Lil Adams Award recipients. When he isn’t involved with the multimillion-dollar projects he and his firm manage, he’s out busy doing volunteer work in many, many ways.”

Rose serves on the Baker College Clinton Township Campus board of regents, is a vice chair of Business for Better Transportation, is a member of Macomb Community College’s Civil Technology Advisory Board and is president of both Leadership Macomb and Utica Community Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence.

Rose recently was appointed to be the Macomb County representative on the new Regional Transit Authority.